The role of resistance training in influencing insulin resistance among adults living with obesity/overweight without diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the independent effect of resistance training (RT) on markers of insulin resistance (IR) (fasting insulin and HOMA-IR) among individuals with overweight/obesity without diabetes. PubMed, SPORTdiscus, SCOPUS, Prospero, and clinicaltrials.gov were searched through December 19, 2022. Article screening was conducted in three phases: title screen (n = 5020), abstract screen (n = 202), and full text screen (n = 73). A total of 27 studies with 402 individual data points were used for the meta-analysis. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software version 3.0 was used to interpret pre- and post-IR measurements with a random-effects model. Exploratory sub-analyses were conducted on studies for only females, only males, and age (< 40 and ≥ 40 years). RT had a significant effect on fasting insulin (- 1.03, 95 % CI - 1.03, - 0.75 p < 0.001) and HOMA-IR (- 1.05, 95 % CI - 1.33, - 0.76, p < 0.001). Sub-analyses revealed that males had a more pronounced effect compared to females and those < 40 years of age had a more pronounced effect compared to those ≥ 40 years. The results of this meta-analysis illustrate that RT plays an independent role in improving IR among adults with overweight/obesity. RT should continue to be recommended as part of preventive measures among these populations. Future studies examining the effect of RT on IR should consider dose centered on the current U.S. physical activity guidelines.